I think the catholic religion started its down hill trend about 30 or so yrs ago when the first conspiracy was found about the abuses. Since then it seems people have lost trust in the system. I remember people being pretty upset to find out how much money was spent to cover up such acts.And on the other hand asking for more. And then finding out all they did was move the offenders to another Parrish. I was raised catholic and still am, same with my wife. I still believe in my religion, and my daughter is also being raised catholic. But what I have seen along the way is the hypocrisy and failures of the catholic church system. It fell into the same capitalistic mindset as the govt. I will always be catholic but rarely attend church in an organized setting. If I see things change with the church and its practices I will gladly start attending more regularly. I also feel Priests should be allowed to marry. As far as the Pope resigning. Who knows he may just be to ill to continue. I wish him well.

SteveZee wrote:If there are false Prophets that suggests that there are real ones?

Yes, there have been lots of them.Gandhi for one. In governance I think Jefferson was another as was Madison. Was Hemingway another with his uncanny ability to say without saying? How about Ayn Rand? Was her belief in the sanctity of the individual just a lot of nonsense?

That so many aspiring practitioners of a religion are failures does not discredit the many saintly people among all the major religions.

I have never met what I would consider a truly holy man or woman but have met some whose lives shine from simple faith. That simplicity was what Emerson and Thoreau preached (two more prophets) and which is so hard to accomplish given the distractions and false ideals common to all ages.

I suppose you could call them Prophets if you look at the literal translation of the word Prophet such as a commentator suggesting a future path or a fortune teller of sorts. You lose me when it's connected to religion where a prophet is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and to speak for them, serving as some sort of intermediary.

Cap wrote:I went to 12 yrs of Catholic School and I was never abused by a priest, only sprinkled with holy water from time to time. Catholic school molded me into what I am today. I think I turned out ok.

ALL of our founding fathers were horrible men cause they were ok with slavery.... terry, see my point?

Cap, maybe you just weren't cute enough! Seriously I'm glad your exerience was positive. Obvioulsy not everyone who attended catholic school or church was abused. Abusers have a keen eye to find the vulnerable among us. They are predators after all. I had a friend (neighbor) growing up who was an altar boy. His personality started to change around the age of 10 or 11. He became very withdrawn. To make a long story short, he endured sexual abuse at the hands of one of the preists for several years before he finally broke down and told his brother. All kept hush hush and the priest just got moved to another city. Just in my area in my lifetime, I know of probably 3 or 4 parrishes where things like this happened.

And it has happened in the Boy Scouts & schools & everyday life, there is no group that has an exclusive on it. The sad part is when it is covered up & ignored, just look at the Penn State scandal in recent times, it was allowed to go on for the good of the football program. Sick people are everywhere & in all walks of life, I guess I may have been lucky & there either was none or it has never come to light from my childhood, even went to some summer camps run by Monks & made it OK, could be I was just never a sweet charming little boy.

It's my understanding that although it's not likely, anyone can beelected Pope. So you should all be on your best behavior just incase you get the call. Being anthracite burners, there would beno smoke out the chimney. Might have to put a hand full of wood pelletsin the boiler.